STACK #124 Feb 2016

It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll GROWN AT HOME MUSIC REVIEWS

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Chris Murray loves pop culture and loves to share.

Sleater Kinney No Cities to Love

As fresh as they sounded in ’94, one of the mascots of the original ‘Riot Grrrl’ movement are back with an album that is equal amounts punkish middle-finger-defiance and sheer adrenalin-fuelled sweat. Clean guitar,

infectious hooks and confident sexiness abounds on this collection of tunes (recorded in secret, apparently??); Fangless could easily be imagined blaring throughout a NYC loft party curated by The Rapture. The energy is enviable and somewhat unbelievable, yet it’s the integrity and consistency that truly excites as these ladies make most younger outfits look like stone statues. You need this. Supb Pop /Inertia

Marilyn Manson The Pale Emperor Can we seriously take Marilyn Manson, seriously? He was an affable chap back in the late ’90s; all prosthetic angst delivered with a fetishistic love of raw sex. Then he lost the mojo. A burlesque wife and an irritating art-wank-celeb circuit were the spoils. He got fat, literally. The last two offerings are best described as a fan soundtrack to a secondhand Batman game. But here, something’s truly reawakened the beast; stimulated that mischievously sharp demon we all know is still under that entire burden. As an album, this is the logical successor to Mechanical Animals , but taken into a new and wondrous territory. Killing Strangers is a riff on the I Put a Spell on You- style menace he already knows all too well (Manson recorded a violently tight cover in ’95, used to unforgettable effect in Lynch’s Lost Highway ); Deep Six is something else entirely – an anthem that is so tight, fun and sweaty old-school-right-now-rock, it’s uncanny. Manson’s proving his juice is restored further by diving into uncharted waters over the next few tracks to inspiring result; Third Day of a Seven Day Binge, The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles and Warship My Wreck is a quietly menacing triple-play to plant smiles on the faithful and warm the gothic heart. Give him another chance, you’ll be glad you did. Cooking Vinyl/Caroline/Universal

Thee Satisfaction Earthee Hip-hop is such a broad term these days. Take these ladies; Tricky meets Morcheeba with a definitive hat-tip towards solid backbeat and bravado… all the while at beautiful odds with Catherine Harris-White’s silky vocals. Fetch/Catch is the prime example of these two genres (smooth/rap) combining to magnificent effect as Stasia Irons sails across

the seductive R&B groove with defiant rhyme and reason. Post Black , Anyway , is where things get truly interesting; a hypnotic wash of sound with a tribal undercurrent that is as haunting as it is seductive and moorish. Check ‘em, particularly if you’re into expanding your repertoire. Subpop/Inertia

Inherent Vice OST Akin to Cassavetes meeting The Cohens, PT Anderson’s cinematic output demands sonic accompaniment to challenge the emotional flow. Frequent collaborator Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead’s Eno) understands this to no end, here delivering poignant noir sprinkled amongst such artists as Can (the amazing and chaotic

Sarah Bethe Nelson Fast Moving Clouds It’s so easy to enjoy this debut; melodic and catchy while also ‘cool’ enough to imagine cruising nightlife, solo, with the confidence of a vixen. Having pop-killer Kelley Stoltz at the control panel as producer makes for an eclectic groove through sunset shades, not surprising since she lent

Vitamin C), ’60s oddballs surferatti, The Marketts and even Neil Young. But Spooks is the narrative gem you’ll hear plenty about: a Radiohead outtake performed by members of Supergrass, yes, you read that correctly. An uneasy-listening experience that forces the mind to wander awkwardly towards an uncertain reality. Much like the film, this is a soundtrack to inspire the off-kilter in us all. Warner

vocals to his own incredulous To Dreamers (2010). A floaty high exudes escape on Snake Shake , while Black Telephone seduces with exotica and sting, see-sawing the listener through memory and flashes of esoterica. Infectious and alluring, hers is a voice that wraps its legs around your waist when you least expect. Red Eye/MGM

Did you know you can listen to all these albums as you read about them using the STACK iPad app and JB HI-FI NOW ?

Jeff Jenkins is a poor player but a great listener.

O’ Shea The Famine and the Feast “So many skeletons left to discover …” And O’Shea is quite a story. Mark O’Shea was the next big thing in Australian country music in the mid-’90s, before going down the pop path with his brother John, in the

band Zinc. He then returned to country after marrying Jay Smith, who later discovered that her real dad was Rob Hirst. The Midnight Oil drummer duets with his daughter on O’Shea’s third album, which mines similar territory to Keith Urban – big hooks with a pop sheen. “Family roots run deep,” they sing, declaring that “family is everything”. Sony The Robertson Brothers Celebrating the Hits of The Everly Brothers

Perry Keyes Sunnyholt I’m alive tonight!” So starts the fourth album by Perry Keyes, the best songwriter you’ve never heard. It’s an optimistic opening, but don’t expect a fun ride. Sunnyholt refers to the road running through Sydney’s outer-western suburbs, where many inner-city residents relocated in the ’60s and ’70s. All messed up with nowhere to go, this record documents the downside of the Great Australian Dream. It’s bleak, but Keyes’ writing is so wonderfully evocative – just check out the marvellously titled Mario Milano’s Monaro, which starts: “My cousin Doreen drives a taxi, she likes girls and one day cricket.” These are heartbreaking tales of wasted lives, where “a lonely girl knows how it feels to have the beautiful things ignore her”, and “I’d trade all the lights on Sydney Harbour to feel my father’s arms again”. Bek-Jean Stewart’s sublime vocals sweeten Raymond John Denning and Shitville , but there are no happy endings in Keyes’ songs, unless they’re “in $59 rooms selling stoned rub and tugs”. You’ll hear snatches of Lou Reed, Tom Waits and Bruce Springsteen, but Perry Keyes is telling his own story. And there is no better Australian songwriter. Laughing Outlaw/Inertia Sam Shinazzi Forever & For Now Sydney’s Sam Shinazzi is in a reflective mood on his fifth album. And he’s got a restless heart. Forever & For Now documents a relationship where two people are moving in different directions. The result? “Now we’re both grieving.” Shinazzi namechecks Springsteen in The Day We Met: “You called me from Philly while The Boss was on stage, I held my fist in the air.” But these aren’t stadium songs. Instead, they float by, and the singer has no easy answers. “Sometimes things just happen,” he concludes, “and you don’t know why.” File next to Ben Lee. Laughing Outlaw/Inertia

Geoff and Ben Robertson have had a varied career, singing the Home and Away theme, as well as doing song parodies (who can forget The Vaughans’ Curry In a Hurry and Who Farted? ). But they play it

straight on their new album, paying tribute to the incomparable Everly Brothers, with faithful renditions of classics such as Wake Up Little Susie , Cathy’s Clown , When Will I Be Loved, Bye Bye Love, (Till) I Kissed You and Love Hurts . These are short, sharp songs with delicious harmonies. Sadly, Phil Everly died last year, but these songs will live forever. Sony

Reigan All of the Pieces Perth’s Reigan Derry has had a few shots at stardom, finishing 11th on Australian Idol in 2006, releasing three singles as part of the duo Scarlett Belle, and then coming fourth in last year’s X Factor . This EP shows she’s got the goods to be a solo star, with the title track

showcasing a singer with power and personality. Unfortunately, the rest of the EP relies on covers of Reigan’s X Factor songs, including Sam Smith’s Stay with Me and Rihanna’s Only Girl (In the World) . They work well. But did we really need another version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah ? Sony FEBRUARY 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.com.au/music

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